The fabrication of integrated circuits (IC) in the semiconductor industry typically employs plasma to create and assist surface chemistry within a vacuum processing system necessary to remove material from and deposit material to a substrate. In general, plasma is formed within the processing system under vacuum conditions by heating electrons to energies sufficient to sustain ionizing collisions with a supplied process gas. Moreover, the heated electrons can have energy sufficient to sustain dissociative collisions and, therefore, a specific set of gases under predetermined conditions (e.g., chamber pressure, gas flow rate, etc.) are chosen to produce a population of charged species and chemically reactive species suitable to the particular process being performed within the system (e.g., etching processes where materials are removed from the substrate or deposition processes where materials are added to the substrate).
Although the formation of a population of charged species (ions, etc.) and chemically reactive species is necessary for performing the function of the plasma processing system (i.e. material etch, material deposition, etc.) at the substrate surface, other component surfaces on the interior of the processing chamber are exposed to the physically and chemically active plasma and, in time, can erode. The erosion of exposed components in the processing system can lead to a gradual degradation of the plasma processing performance and ultimately to complete failure of the system.
In order to minimize the damage sustained by exposure to the processing plasma, a consumable or replaceable component, such as one fabricated from silicon, quartz, alumina, carbon, or silicon carbide, can be inserted within the processing chamber to protect the surfaces of more valuable components that would impose greater costs during frequent replacement and/or to affect changes in the process. Furthermore, it is desirable to select surface materials that minimize the introduction of unwanted contaminants, impurities, etc. to the processing plasma and possibly to the devices formed on the substrate. Often times, these consumables or replaceable components are considered part of the process kit, which is frequently maintained during system cleaning.